U.S. Class I railroads carried 502,105 carloads and intermodal containers for the week ending April 26, 2025, up 5.5% from the prior-year period, the AAR reported April 30. Carloads came in at 233,411, rising 9.0%, and intermodal volume was 268,694 containers and trailers, increasing 2.6% from the same week in 2024. The previous eight weeks saw similar results, with both carloads and intermodal units up (click on each date for more details: March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29, April 5, April 12, and April 19.)
For the week ending April 26, 2025, seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week last year. They included coal, up 14,090 carloads, to 59,726; grain, up 4,945 carloads, to 25,181; and chemicals, up 1,379 carloads, to 35,183. Commodity groups that posted declines were nonmetallic minerals, down 1,834 carloads, to 32,343; motor vehicles and parts, down 1,448 carloads, to 15,618; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 63 carloads, to 9,732.
For the first 17 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,677,738 carloads, rising 1.5% from the same point last year; and 4,629,176 intermodal units, increasing 8.0% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 17 weeks of this year came in at 8,306,914 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.0% gain over 2024.
North American rail volume for the week ending April 26, 2025, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 343,175 carloads, up 5.9% from the year-ago period, and 360,451 intermodal units, up 2.8% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 703,626 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.3%. North American rail volume for the first 17 weeks of this year was 11,440,654 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.2% increase over 2024.
Canadian railroads reported 94,065 carloads for the week ending April 26, 2025, up 1.0%, and 80,430 intermodal units, up 6.4% compared with the same week last year. For the first 17 weeks of 2025, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,730,377 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.2%.
For the week ending April 26, 2025, Mexican railroads reported 15,699 carloads, a 6.4% dip from the same week last year, and 11,327 intermodal units, a 14.3% drop. Their cumulative volume for the first 17 weeks of this year was 403,363 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, decreasing 10.1% from the same point last year.
